Exploring the coming energy crisis and the way forward 5

News update

‘If Peak Oil Is Dead, Why Haven’t Prices Dropped?’
Steve Andrews of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, USA interviews Dr. Richard G. Miller who recently co-authored and co-edited The Future of Oil Supply (see item below), a thematic issue of Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society entirely devoted to future world oil supply. Dr. Miller, trained as a geologist, joined BP as a geochemist in 1985. He studied Peak Oil matters since 1991, when BP asked him the following year to devise a wholly new way to estimate global oil resources. In 2000, he was tasked with creating an in-house projection of global future oil demand and supply to 2030. The model he created was updated annually through 2008; then the effort was disbanded and he moved on to his present work consulting on peak oil.

Royal Society joins the Peak Oil debatePhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society has the prestige of being the world’s first scientific journal and also published the work of Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, William Herschel and many more celebrated names in science. Recently, this journal published a theme issue, edited by Richard G. Miller and Steve R. Sorell, on peak oil. This volume presents the best scientific evidence on why a decline in oil supply may, or may not, be in sight. It considers the production and resources of conventional oil and the potential for developing alternative liquid fuels from tar sands, shales, biomass, coal and gas. It describes how economies might react and adapt to rising oil prices and how the transport sector could be transformed. It provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the ‘peak oil’ debate and reflects a range of views. Ultimately, it reminds us that the wolf did eventually appear – and that it would be wise to prepare.

Climate Change is a ‘National Security’ Issue Say Military ExpertsClimate change should be treated as an issue of national security, say military analysts familiar with links between environmental degradation and conflict. Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, a former Royal Navy aircraft carrier commander and chief UK climate envoy in 2013, told RTCC no one country could afford to ignore the risks linked to rising temperatures.

The battle for water
Adequate availability of water, food and energy is critical to global security. The sharpening, international, geopolitical competition over natural resources has turned some strategic resources into engines of power struggle and triggered price volatility. The geopolitics of natural resources promises to get murkier. Water — the sustainer of life and livelihoods — is already the world’s most exploited natural resource. With nature’s freshwater-renewable capacity lagging behind humanity’s current rate of utilisation, tomorrow’s water is being used to meet today’s need. Adapted from Brahma Chellaney’s new book,Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis.

The Karnataka biofuel model may be replicated elsewhere
The Karnataka policy on biofuel production — with its attempt to move away from the “food vs. fuel” conundrum — is likely to be taken up as a model for other developing countries in Asia and Africa based on a study commissioned by the World Agroforestry Centre.

The Peak Oil Crisis: A Winter UpdateAs the years go by, those studying peak oil are beginning to develop a better understanding of what has been happening since the concept of limits to oil production came to widespread attention. First of all, it is important to understand that in one sense, production of what had been thought of as “conventional oil” really did peak back in 2005. While there has been growth in certain sectors of the “oil” industry in the last nine years it has come in what are known as “unconventional liquids” and as we shall see the maintenance of existing conventional oil production has come at a very high price.

The Purposely Confusing World of Energy PoliticsLife often presents us with paradoxes, but seldom so blatant or consequential as the following. Read this sentence slowly: Today it is especially difficult for most people to understand our perilous global energy situation, precisely because it has never been more important to do so. Got that? No? Okay, let me explain.Richard Heinberg, well-known energy expert and writer on Peak Oil and related issues writes about manufactured confusions surrounding Peak Oil.

Can the World Feed China?
Overnight, China has become a leading world grain importer, set to buy a staggering 22 million tons in the 2013–14 trade year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture projections. As recently as 2006—just eight years ago—China had a grain surplus and was exporting 10 million tons. What caused this dramatic shift? Lester Brown, well-known expert on food security and environment, weighs in on the question. Naturally, the question applies as much or more to India as well, for more or less the same reasons.

The Rising of the Waters: A Call for SubmissionBritish environmental activist and writer Paul Kingsnorth of The Dark Mountain Project writes on their website about the floods that have become an annual phenomenon in his country. This personal note revisits the places he has lived in, is both elegy and warning, and ends with a call for submissions for the latest edition in Dark Mountain’s book series. He writes: “What is interesting to me personally is to see this hitting the south of England so hard. For a long time, environmentalists have been telling us that it is the poor who will be hit hardest by climate change. Of course, they are right in many ways. The flooding of Bangladesh is going to be much worse for its people than the flooding of England. Nevertheless, what we can see here is people in one of the richest countries in the world taking the full force of the climate shift that is now beginning. It has been happening elsewhere for a long time; it will keep happening, everywhere.“ Here’s a link to his essay Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist, which created a flutter in green activist circles when it was first published.

Energy and Oil Crisis in India

Serious discussion of energy and related themes in India is restricted to specialists and held behind closed doors. This is something we can no longer afford, especially so, since we have embraced a high energy input development model, despite having to meet most of our energy needs through oil imports. This has serious implications when seen in the context of Peak Oil.

About Peak Oil India

India is facing a big energy crisis. As the second most populous nation in the world, year after year, India is continuously ranking as one of the biggest consumers of energy in the world. Here at Peak Oil India, we are going to explore this topic further and delve into analysis and discussions to bring awareness to people.

Peak Oil – Fact or Fiction?

There is a big debate over Peak Oil and whether it is a reality or just another conspiracy theory. The truth is oil resources, and other fossil fuels are depletable. Now the real question is – when they are going to cease to exist? There is no clear consensus among experts. Some argue that we have not even scraped the surface of the earth and it’s resources, while others say that we have far surpassed the Peak Oil extraction and increase in price is inevitable. The matter of fact is the sooner we can limit our dependence on natural resources and turn to renewable energy the better off we will be as a civilization in the years to come.